I switched to Mac from Windows back in 2010 and in general the experience has been really good, but I’ve missed what were my two favourite Windows apps - Delphi and MS Access, neither of which have Mac versions. I’ve programmed in Pascal since about 1983, and I’ve been using Access since version 1.
I recently got the genius idea of installing Windows 10 on my immediate previous iMac, which I replaced as my main desktop machine in 2016, using Boot Camp. I was then able to install Access, since I already subscribe to Office, and I downloaded the Community edition of Delphi, which is free.
My experience has been brilliant. There’s a bit of a lag using Bluetooth input devices, but I found an old wired Logitech trackball (I prefer trackballs to mice). In the last couple of months I’ve probably spent more time on Windows than MacOS, but at least I’m still on Apple hardware!
I’m currently working on a book catalog application, which I previously had running on FileMaker. The new version is benefitting from being able to write code. I’ve always had trouble getting my head around the way FileMaker does things…
While I don’t share your love of MS Access (had to support it in the '90s), I can definitely understand running Windows on a Mac.
The hardware is almost always better (on those models equipped with a reliable keyboard) and the Windows installation is clean vs the crapware infected versions that come with new PCs.
As much as we love Macs, sometimes you gotta run Windows. Good luck with your new application.
Did you try anything like parallels or vmware fusion?
I have to spend a good chunk of my day with IE11 for one java applet (don’t ask!) and found parallels in coherence mode to be excellent.
I routinely run Windows with Access on Parallels on an iMac and MacBook, and “just works”. No problems. I have found no equivalent of Access and the thought of relearning/remaking in something else just to rid myself of Microsoft … simply silly.
I also used to use Delphi (in mid ‘90’s) … but now all my programming is done in Python with Django, Pandas, MySQL (to which Access is connected). Also “just works”. Recommended.
I’ve run Parallels in the past. My thought was that Boot Camp provided a cleaner solution, and I was concerned that running Delphi & Access at the same time in a VM might be an issue. I like To use Access for database programming because it’s basically zero admin when compared to any sort of SQL server. I’m only programming for myself, so portability isn’t an issue.
Delphi targets multiple platforms, so I can use it to develop for the Mac. At the moment I’m not doing that, but I will. At 67 I’m not that bothered about future proofing! My understanding is that Swift, for instance, is pretty immature when compared to Delphi. There are other mature languages, but I just couldn’t be bothered learning them.
